Two moves coming?
-
- April
- 8
Alberto Gonzalez was pulled out of tonight’s game for Scranton, which could mean he’s headed here to replace Derek Jeter on the roster.
Jorge Posada is scheduled for an MRI tomorrow. He said it would be in Kansas City. The Yankees can have their own doctors read the results then decide what to do. He has never been on the DL in his career but seemed almost resigned to it when reporters spoke to him.
“I’m not helping the team out, it’s as simple as that. I’ve got to be 100 percent to be back there and right now I’m not,” he said. “I’m hoping for the best but I don’t know. A catcher is like a pitcher, you need your arm. If you’re an outfielder or a shortstop you can play through it but a catcher throws as much as a pitcher.”
Meanwhile, if Jeter goes on the DL, would you want A-Rod to play shortstop?
Here’s A-Rod’s take:
“I haven’t thought about it. But whatever Joe wants I will do. I haven’t taken a groundball over there in five years, not even playing around. It would definitely be a challenge. But if Joe thought that were the best combination, I will let it fly.”
The Yankees have faith in Wilson Betemit in the short term. But if Jeter is going to miss two weeks, you have to at least consider moving A-Rod.
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First Jeter, now Posada?
I think A-Rod will stay at SS. Since he hasn’t been in any SS position for 5 years that should be the indication he’s going to stay at 3B.
Wait a minute. I thought Derek was NOT going on the DL. Gonzalez is a terrible option. I’ve yet to see this heralded glove he’s supposed to have and he can’t hit.
I’d rather have Alex G’s glove out there, than Wilsons glove and lack of bat.
Oh no.
This is not going to be good.
I don’t know if they can survive without Posada and Jeter for 2 weeks or so.
I say move A-Rod to short, put Ensberg at 3B and hope for the best.
I’m on my to temple to start praying. Catch up with the blog later tomorrow.
I keep hearing about Rodriguez moving over to short, but can someone tell me what that accomplishes?
Then you’re missing a third baseman. Will Betemit hit better if he’s playing third? Is a gold glove-winner who hasn’t taken a groundball a short in five years a better double-play partner than Betemit or Ensberg?
Basically, Betemit can’t hit, and can’t field. Gonzalez can’t hit, but he CAN field. I’ll take Gonzalez. Betemit shouldn’t be on the team anyway…Duncan, Ensburg, and Betemit are all pretty much the same player.
Could Gonzalez be brought up to take POSADA’S roster spot, possibly?
Betemit has looked lost at the plate and he was shaky on defense today. I’d at least play Gonzales at short to vastly improve the defense and add some speed. All those steals today made us look REALLY old.
Which begs the question, what’s Wilson doing on the roster? I’m sure he’s a wonderful guy, and all, but if you’re going to bring up Gonzalez, then why’d you go with Wilson in the first place?
Gonzalez is the best option? Geez!
Wilson is better when he is riding the pine. I’d rather give a kid a chance to play, and live with little bat from him. Than Wilson striking out! He has a -10 ops how the heck is that possible?
I know no one is really hitting, and it isn’t fair to lay it at his feet. But he can’t even cleanly field a throw from Jorge that was a sure out!
Rebecca, I couldn’t agree with you more. Torre was the one who loved Betemit. I don’t think Girardi has the same devotion.
Where the f*** is Erick Almonte when you need him the most?
Maybe they send down Duncan, and call up Gonzalez..
It would make more sense then putting Jeter on the DL for now..
Okay Yankee fans step away from the ledge.
In 2003 when Jeter missed 40 games the Yankees still managed to win the division and make it to the World Series. This offense is good enough to sustain no Jeter or no Posada for a couple of weeks.
If the Yankees continue to pitch they will be in good shape. The offense will come around.
I think the question is are we better off with Ensberg at 3rd or Betemit at SS. We don’t know the answer to that.
Louise, never thought of that. If they than had to dl Jeter, they’d be able to bring Duncan back up.
Betemit is a fill in at 2B or SS for a game only…his real role is as a switch-hitter at first or third. Hence Gonzalez.
A-Rod has put on weight and gotten bigger since his sleek shortstop days. He does not have the mobility to play SS anymore. He would be serviceable there, nothing more. Why weaken both SS and 3B? He should and will stay at 3B.
Story still developing…stay tuned for further details at 11 tonight.
Go with Betemit at SS, leave A-Rod at 3B. He’s used to it there, even though he’s lying by saying he hasn’t taken a grounder over there in 5 years. He played a few games there for the Yanks already.
Wasn’t all the talk a few weeks ago about how Jeter was found to be the worst defensive SS in all of baseball? Well if that is the case, then Betemit can’t be any worse. Meanwhile, A-Rod is terrific over at 3B.
Elizabeth, Chad Moeller would likely be brought up to take Posada’s spot. You need two catchers in case Molina gets hurt in a game as the starter. There’s no way I’d want to throw Ensberg back there.
I think these are the moves that will be made…
Duncan sent down to play
Gonzalez called up to play SS
Posada gets his MRI results, and is put on the DL
Moeller gets called up…
When Jeter comes back, Yankees will have to make a decision on Duncan/Betimit/Ensberg
bigjf–No, I know that. I’m only asking because it didn’t seem as though Derek was headed for the DL.
I’m nowhere near the ledge.
Optimist Prime does not like heights.
No the decision would be to send Gonzalez back down. After we see him bat, we’ll have no problem sending him back to Scranton.
the yanks should just move a-rod to ss and have ensberg play 3B for the time being. then molina can serve as the catcher. 2 weeks isn’t that much time either way.
ray I totally agree. As long as the pitching stays healthy the yanks will be fine. Once the guys start hitting all will be right again. Keep bobby hot get Robbie going and things will look a lot better. Hey its april and we aren’t the Detroit Tigers!!!
here’s a tidbit for the ARod to SS gang: Me thinks he may be one HR short of tying the alltime record for HR’s by a shortstop.
Well the yankees have a wasted rosted spot or 2. There is no reason to carry 4 1st basemen in Giambi, Ensberg and Duncan, and Betimit..
Duncan is the only one who can be sent down.. I know people love him, but he swings for the fences every time up, strikes out a lot, and his act to me when he does bad is getting old…
Right now he’s a waste on that roster.
i-yankees, it’s not that simple when A-Rod hasn’t played short in five years.
That’s like me saying ‘okay, I haven’t played piano for ten years, but if you need a concert pianist, I’m your gal’
Correction:
should be–and henceforth will be referred to as–Crises In the Bronx
Hey guys… at least we aren’t 0-7!
If the season ended today, the Brewers are playing the Orioles in the world series
A-rod was a SS his entire career except for the last four years in NY. He has won gold gloves as a SS and at the time was actually considered to be one of the top defensive SS. He is the best defensive option at that position we have right now. Betimit could not even handle a throw from the catcher today. I want to see A-rod at SS tomorrow even if it is for novelty purposes. It’s April and Baltimore is leading the division, no need to be worried.
“Gonzalez is the best option? Geez!”
maybe the sox will trade lowrie for joba and hughes.
FYI, A Rod played SS in a few games in 2004 I believe when Jeter had to be removed. Sheffield played 3B.
I do not know how you can move A-Rod to SS. He had not played there in 5 years and if they do move him there and he is not living up to what people expect it is going to affect him which will then affect his bat (even though he struck out 4 times today) because he will be thinking about playing SS. I say we need A-Rods bat right now more than him at SS, and call up Gonzalez.
Louise, of the bench guys, Duncan is the only one that can fill in in the outfield of someone gets hurt.
Moving A-rod to shortstop?
I’m not sure about that, Pete,
It took him years to get comfortable over thirdbase,
Are you sure moving him is the best idea right now?
This clearly is not the main point here but i believe that the K.C. announcers said that A-rod was two homers from matching or breaking the record for a SS, i don’t remember which. Once again, that is not the focus here but I would like to see him get that…
let betemit play ss. Its for 10 games. Relax
I was at the PNC Field tonight when they pulled A-GOn from the game in the 7th for Nick Green, and believe me that was NOT for defensive purposes!
I have been watching Gonzalez here in Scranton last season and the first six games this year and he would be an upgrade on defense over anyone the Yankees currently have, including Jeter. True, his offense is lacking, but the Yankees seem to have that in abundance and can live with A-Gon in the short term. It is their best option.
Absolutely not. I think that is a rash move and really ridulous. Like Arod said he hasnt played there in 5 years, so you would be playing someone totally out of position. He is not a SS anymore and should not even be considered a back up there. I really do not even think that Girardi would even consider doing that. Betemit will just have to play SS and strikeout in every at bat until Jeter comes back. I dont think they are going to bring up Gonzalez because then you would have to send someone down. Unless Jeter’s injury was worse then expected and he goes on the DL and you bring him up.
and watch wilson swing through nose high fastballs?
If Gonzalez can come up and hit anywhere above .240 without a lot of Ks he’s already a million times better than Betemit. If Jeter’s gonna be out for a while, bring up Alberto for crying out loud. Betemit shouldn’t be on the team anyway.
or balls in the dirt. I think he got confused the other day and thought he was golfing.
Zod, he wasn’t hurt or anything? Did you see a car whisking him away to the airport?
There’s no question he is capable of filling in, but the last thing this team needs is AROD getting taken out with a rolling slide while trying to turn two. Keep him at third and suck it up with Betemit for a few days, or bring up Alberto Gonzalez on perjury charges for lying to Congress, oops, I mean bring the other AG up from Scranton if Jeets is down for longer. That way, we get to see what its like having a SS with tremendous range.
So who gets sent down for ‘berto?
Here’s what’s going to happen I think:
Duncan to AAA
Gonzalez to NYY
Posada to DL
Moeller to NYY
Jeter will stay on the bench until the Boston series which I do think he will play in. (stays on active roster).
When Posada comes back they will have to send down Moeller.
When Jeter is healthy, he takes Gonzalez’s spot in the starting lineup. Gonzalez gets sent back down to AAA and Duncan gets called up again.
At any point in time in that scenario the roster still works out to be 25-man. I have a feeling that that’s likely to happen.
If Jeter does go on the DL though, Duncan can stay up and calling up Gonzo would do nothing to change the number of men on the roster.
Samples:
I don’t think you can make any move on the “what if he gets taken out at second” theory. Jeter is very valuable to this team yet we play him at SS every day. Should he be moved just to avoid injury?
Hey Joe Girardi - when you tell me how it’s gonna be, I’ll roll with it. I kinda trust you know what you’re doing. Swear to God.
rebecca and elizabeth - I posted this to you in the other thread but then noticed Pete Koresh had put up new information and everyone kind of flew here.
I haven’t heard anyone say anything about aneurism. I was just thinking back to David Cone’s situation and wondered if anyone remembered if he had pain. I didn’t think he did and so I automatically wondered if it could be that. But there is absolutely nothing other than my vivid imagination at work here. I don’t mean to panic anyone with that suggestion. Sorry.
I would like to see A-Rod at SS. I don’t know where jeter goes….fact is Jeter’s years at SS are limited. Alex being the better SS and athlete belongs there. It would certainly be interesting on their “relationship”.
I had a feeling this was gonna happen. They were too healthy all spring. It was too good to be true.
God help us if the pitching doesn’t keep going as relatively well as it has been.
When they pulled Gonzalez in AAA, that signaled what was going to happen. AROD isn’t going to SS. Gonzalez comes up, Duncan goes down. It’s pretty simple math really. Rebecca, Matsui can go into the outfield if someone is hurt. and someone else DH’s. I don’t like it either, but if an outfielder gets really hurt, and DL’d then Gardner is the next call. He’s missed the last 3 games, but is supposed to be back in the lineup tomorrow i think.
The one bright spot in all of this is that Molina didn’t feel that he had to be THE catcher with a lesser team and no doubt making more money to boot when instead he resigned with the Yanks last off season. Thank God for that!
Unfortunately, with Posada and Jeter both possibly going on the DL it points out just how thin the bench is when it come to potent bats not to mention decent fielding.
I have already posted that I felt the team still needed an impact bat. Where are the Strawberry’s and Raines that could provide a nasty bat when it was needed?
I know, I know. You’re tired of hearing this, but I believe that Barry Bonds was the bat they needed last week and definitely need this week. Go get someone who will hit 20+ HR’s and walk 100+ times. He would be the Big Papi to Arod that Big Papi is to Manny. No field but plenty of hit and just plain terrorize the other teams pitchers.
No one hated more than me for Bonds to break Aaron’s HR record but he did and thats over now. MLB seemed to survive it. And yeah his attitude is poisonous but I am thinking a chance to play again might work wonders for all involved.
Put a clause in his contract for performance and civility and see what happens.
I am willing to listen to alternatives but I am no longer willing to stand on Principle when no one else seems to either from top to bottom in this country.
I’d love to see Bonds as the DH, but that’ll never happen.
I can’t help but wonder if Carl Pavano has any way to help this situation.
Maybe he can drive Posada to the MRI.
Jesse: It sounds crazy but I agree with you 100%.
Yewnork:
I say that only because of the time gap since he’s played the high contact, jumping, off balance throwing position. He’s more likely to have issues sensing a bad / late slide and getting out of the way. Jeter does it all day, every day. Arod’s an amazing athlete, but his moves at SS are rusty.
Jesse, it’s not going to happen.
The bat’s good, I’ll give you that, but you lose a fielder, and as we see here, we can’t afford that.
Our offense ranked first in almost EVERY offensive catergory last year. We haven’t made any significant offensive changes. Our offense will come.
You don’t sign Bonds because we had a bad offensive week.
it’s clear Georgy was hiding his pain, as for Derek as much as I want him to play in Boston I rather have him healthy for this season, so I know the best decision right now is to DL him, I hope the Yankees make the right choice otherwise we’re going to have 1/2 a player on the field and risking season ending injuries.
Today’s game was brutal, we have alot of work to do, I’d also like to get that ump some laser eye treatment what a bunch of ridiculous strike zones for Alex.
Any moves made by the Yankees will have nothing to do with a positional HR record that A-Rod obviously wasn’t concerned with when he agreed to make the move to 3rd. It will only be about what combination of SS/3B is in the best interest of the team. That being said, Ripken had 345 at SS and Alex has 344.
Seemed like the concern coming out of ST was if any of the back-ups could play 2nd. Betemit or Gonzalez should both have to prove themselves incapable of playing SS before you start moving 2 pieces of the puzzle to fill one hole, especially if it’s only for a short term fix.
I agree with you there Samples. I guess it is just one of those things I would like to see but when it is really analyzed it is not very practical.
Samples:
“Arod’s an amazing athlete, but his moves at SS are rusty”.
Since when have you been watching baseball? If A-rod moves are rusty(at short), why was he the gold glove winner instead of jeter when he was at short. Explain Please!!!!!
I’m not saying moving A-rod is the only good move. But to say Alex was not so good at short is not fare.
Regardless of whether the offense had gotten off to a hot or cold start, Bonds would be the perfect DH for this team, or any AL team for that matter.
Noone has the guts to do it though.
I can’t take it…. i thought 2007 was just one year, i guess this is the way it’s going to be… ok… the mets lost… yay…
Pat:
I know that the HR thing will never cross their minds. When i said that I would like for him to get that record I did not realize that Cal had the record. That changes my opinion..
I can’t believe I would be for signing Bonds, but with this horrific offense about to get even worse, something must be done to put some punch into the team. And I hate to think about trying to compete with Boston this weekend with the pitching matchups scheduled.
If Gonzalez comes up and hits .250 with solid D, he may as well pack a big bag, because I’m pretty sure that will keep him up here. Betemit is a waste of a roster spot. He doesn’t add ANYTHING defensively or offensively to this team.
I just hope he doesn’t come up and boot a ball or two, and not hit at all. Gonzalez is faster, better D, handles the bat better. The ONLY thing Betemit has is power from the left side of the plate, that’s it. He will occasionally run into one hitting lefty.
By the way, teams have been a lot more injured that the Yankees are even approaching at this point in time and gotten the job done. The Athletics in 2006 battled horrific injuries throughout the entire season and won their division. So please don’t start whining about two potential injuries and a young and healthy pitching staff. Suck it up and realize who the Yankees are and thank your lucky stars the team has the resources it does to deal with this stuff.
It could be a lot worse………
we could be Tiger fans. lol
Short term, I think Betemit and Gonzalez (for defense) can fill in.
If the injury ends up being long term though, I think trying A-Rod at short again might be better. I don’t expect him to be like he used to be, but if he can do even decent, I’d rather see Betemit/Ensberg at third than Betemit/Gonzalez at short. Unless Gonzalez is hitting better than he’s expected to.
I want to see Jesus !
Montero, that is.
(I fully realize he’s young and years away from the MLB, but…)
As John Turturro so eloquently put it in ‘The Big Lebowski’:
“Nobody Fs with the Jesus, man…”
While y’all are debating the pointless, I’m bracing and preparing myself for the inevitable — another 3-steal game by Gathright tomorrow.
At least the team with the second highest payroll is now 0-7 and makes the NYY look like a perennial All Star team…
real quick before I speak about Betemit ONLY THE THE F***IN’ KNICKS WOULD CHOKE AN OPPURTUNITY TO DRAFT DERRICK ROSE !
Wilson Betemit needs a smack of sense, IDK how he can go from a guy that drives in runs to a an automatic subway turnstile at the plate. You have Kevin Long as a teacher use him dummy..you see what he did for Carlos Pena ? I’m starting to think Wilson Betemit is comfortable, he doesn’t want it, he relaxes shows his power potential and then he just fades away, under Joe Girardi that is not something he’s going to want to do IMHO.
Bronxbomber, Jesus was 2-4 tonight, with a HR. Dude is gonna be a stud.
Steven, NO WAY Gathright gets 3 steals with Molina behind the plate all game. However, wouldn’t it be nice to see Damon, Arod, or Abeu on the move. I don’t think we have attempted 1 straight steal all year.
I think moving ARod is the worst move being considered. Why risk messing with your one sure thing?
Betemit, before this year (so far), was a GREAT hitting reserve for spelling every infielder for a game or two.
If the Captain is out for a while, give Gonzalez a chance.
According to Pinstripe Potentials:
“Any discussion of Alberto Gonzalez begins with defense. Alberto Gonzalez has one of the best infield arms in the minor leagues: a certified cannon. I heard one person compare his arm to Cal Ripken’s. He doesn’t have phenominal range, but he is above average to both sides. Combined, Alberto Gonzalez is one of the top defensive shortstops in baseball. On the other side of the ball, Gonzalez isn’t as bad as other defensive wizards of the minors.”
http://yankeeprospects.blogspot.com/2007/02/prospect-profile-alberto-gonzalez.html
off topic, but good rumor. susan slusser of the sf gate says she thinks rich harden will be traded, and lists both ny teams as front runners. harden’s nasty(when healthy). i wonder what it’d take. probably kennedy and jackson at least, no?
http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/04/08/rich-harden-and-joe-blanton-rumors/
Good Evening All
This is what I would do.
Send S.Duncan down to play…A.Gonzalez or Ransom called up.Ransom would of course have to be added to 40 Man,which could be made by moving Cervelli to 60Day DL.
DL Posada effective tommorrow,call up Moeller but play Molina in Posadas place.
Jeets returns over the weekend,hopefully all healed….A.Gonzalez or Ransom sent back to Scranton next week.
I dont want to sound pessimistic but if Jeter And Posada land in the DL,with this road trip,against contenders,coming,The Yankees are in trouble.
I dont see the offense coming out of the slump soon…
The 2008 season is gonna be a long and cruel one for my beloved Bronx ex Bombers.
Rebecca
I would replace any of these players (Duncan, Betimet, Ensberg) with Bonds in a NY minute.
And yes the defense needs to be shored up with another stud in the outfield which means that either Damon or Matsui has to go in a trade.
I don’t know who’s available infield wise but there has to be someone better than what the team has right now as a reserve.
Pitching and Defense along with some timely hitting wins! Notice that I rank them in order of what is most important to winning in my humble opinion.
This is the same lineup that tanked against Cleveland last year in the post season and against the Tigers in the post season the previous year. It’s not a terrible line up but it hasn’t proven that it can get the job done when it counts.
Austin Jackson: 2 for 5, 1 R, 1 SB
Jose Tabata: 2 for 4, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB - (already 3 steals on the year)
you already now what Dellin did and Jesus went long, Carmen had a hit
—
now my take on the injuries, it’s a sign of age, here we are playing 30 - 40 degrees weather Jetes, Georgy well Jason you just can’t count on him but all three of them have one thing in common age and it catches up w/ you if you don’t take care of your body. This is why the questions of who replaces a player is important, I kept reading this month how guys like this are going to be fine and how why we have these players on the bench, this is why. And it is also the reason Jetes, Georgy and 1B may be an option in the future.
I’ll panic if we’re out 15 games in May or June.
Oh wait…
“susan slusser of the sf gate says she thinks rich harden will be traded, and lists both ny teams as front runners. harden’s nasty(when healthy). i wonder what it’d take. probably kennedy and jackson at least, no?”
GOD NO !
Give up the fantasies…Bonds is not going to be signed by the Yankees. No chance. Cashman and Girardi don’t want the baggage, attitude, selfishness, and indictments.
And A-Rod is now too big to be a good defensive shortstop. He is much bigger than his lean SS years.
Jesse, I wholeheartedly disagree, but I’ll leave it at that.
Brandon
Going on Thursday Nite to see yer boy AJAX.
He is fun to watch.
“And A-Rod is now too big to be a good defensive shortstop. He is much bigger than his lean SS years.”
yet his lateral movement to the ball is still better than Jeter what does that say about him ..
Now lets see how joe g will deal with all the injury’s…
Jesse, first off, if you plan on landing a “stud” in the outfield, you don’t lead a package with Damon or Matsui. 2 aging below average defenders are not what gets you a young stud, it’s good young pitching, and trust me, we are NOT going to start trading our good young pitching chips now because of a few April injuries.
“Going on Thursday Nite to see yer boy AJAX.
He is fun to watch.”
do me a favor, take a digital camera and take some pictures of him on the field during a play or two and if not too much trouble don’t forget Tabata
Off topic: Just saw a pic of the New York jackets the Yankees were wearing today. Loved them.
pat
Yes they did look good…and warm!
Brad Suttle .500/.556/.750 wow …..
Brandon
Ill get ya an autograph of AJAX….Ill see if I can borrow my bro-inlaw digital camera.
Ensberg is a good third baseman. He never played first before coming here. He’s always been a third baseman. There’s no way Alex, a former gold glove, is worse than Betemit at shortstop, even with the rust. Betemit has never played the position. He’s a third baseman too. Which begs the question, why do you have three third basemen on your roster? Betemit should be traded or released and the Yankees should go about finding a true utility infielder who can play up the middle. Ensberg can spell A-Rod and Giambi/Shelly. But in the short term, move Alex to short for two weeks and let Ensberg play third every day. Gonzalez can come in for defense in late innings, with Alex moving over to third.
Bonds?
Really?
Hasn’t this team had enough steroid scandal? I wouldn’t bring him here if the Red Sox graciously offered to take on his salary. I’m surprised that so many fans want him on the team…
thanks UM
Hey gang,ignore and forgett about trades and rumors..we are what we have..Lets stand behind our guys..we are the YANKEES.
We dont need Bonds to be a disruptive presence in our house.
nobody wants Bonds Raul, I’d rather watch Yankee Stadium get RickRolled than that
SD John
My point is that someone has to go if they are going to improve themselves defensively. Sure they may not get you a stud but you have to give a little bit to get a little bit in life. They bring what they bring in a trade and you move on. Maybe there is a player in the minors that can slot in defensively and for every run saved defensively thats one less run the offense has to score.
They have to improve their defense at 1B and in LF. Defense wins a lot games. The pitching will most likely be uneven at times this year but I believe that it will be adequate. But without good defense to back it up and timely hitting. They will lost their share of games like todays.
Correct me if Im wrong…but didnt Betemit come up with the Braves as a SS,then moved to 3B???
IDK if it’s the cold weather, or what Pags said or just too early but Philip Hughes has my eyebrows attention when it comes to his velocity. A starter like him sat at 93-94 mph in the minors and topped out at 95,97 but now is around 89-92 mph. All I know is something is up.
“Correct me if Im wrong…but didnt Betemit come up with the Braves as a SS,then moved to 3B???”
yes he did UM, and was a prototypical # 2 - 8 hitter Bobby Cox got the best out of him, probably because he was hard nose w/ him, but he eventually took over an injured Chipper Jones spot at 3B
I like the idea of giving Alberto Gonzalez a try. Moving AROD is a bad idea. He hasn’t played there in 5 years, and he’s too important to the team to be messing around with. Alberto is a better fielder at SS than Betemit, and he can’t possibly do worse at the plate. Betemit is a strike out machine. Let’s see what the kid’s got.
For everyone who wants Bonds, he will probably want at least a $10-12 million deal. That’s a lot of cabbage, absolutely no reason for the Yanks to sign him.
Move ARod to short if Jeter is out for a couple weeks. That way he can hit his two jacks to pass Ripken to become the all-time leader in HRs by a SS like he should be.
Relax.
Worst case scenario? We have one of the best defensive catchers in MLB as our backup catcher to take Po’s place. And we have one of the best defensive ss in the minor leagues to pick up jeter for a few weeks. The batting order can handle it. The pitching staff can handle it.
If Bonds ever becomes a Yankee, I swear I’ll turn the page on this team forever (and I come from four generations of Yankee fans, so that’s a lot for me to say).
It’s April 8. The season is 5% done. I mean, seriously - the Orioles are in first place right now. We don’t need to trade anyone, and we don’t need to do anything crazy. Trust Joe G, trust Cash, trust the farm system. Let’s just see what happens. If they’re out 10 games by June 1, I’ll be a little more worried.
OK…I did some research….Betemit was a SS originally.
Had 1 AB and 1 Inning played at SS in 2001
In 2004 11 Games at SS 7 at 3B
M C
I A
G I
U R
E O
L
yeh he was sent down because Rafael Furcal was the SS for the Braves and they didn’t want to slow Bet’s progress, I think Betemit needs the kick on the nuts treatment another words Girardi needs to go commando on him to get positive progress for Wilson
UtilityMan, you had to go there…
M C
I A
G I
U R
E O
L
——
overrated just like Andy Philips was
Rebecca
Of course I did!
Its been a few weeks.
Dennis,
I actually agree re: Betemit. I think he’s a complete waste. He strikes out way too much, and his only real upside is a bit of pop from the left side (which we have) and his defense at first. I was hoping Woodward would make the team over him in Spring Training.
The A-Rod to short debate to me is all about Betemit. I can’t have him in the line-up everyday. he’s poor defensively and can’t hit. A-Rod is a great athlete, I have faith that he can handle shortstop ffor a bit. I’d play Ensberg at Third, A-Rod at short and see how it works.
Failing that, Gonzalez has to play Short, not Betemit.
Switching ARod’s position while he’s not hitting and the team is also not hitting is a risky move.
Switching positions is only going to give him something else to think about.
Betemit did come up as a SS but that was about 30 pounds ago.
He was a good prospect but even then there was a real question about whether or not he would be able to stick at shortstop because of his frame.
Betemit is a big guy - he’s 6′2. ARod is is 6′3. Betemit just continued to gain too much weight as he filled out.
This is very common for young short stop prospects, especially if they are 6′2.
(This is one of the reasons why Angellini is a good to very good prospect - there is almost no question that he will stick at shortstop. If that was up in the air he wouldn’t be that highly thought of).
At this point Betemit is a corner infielder who you can spot at SS.
So the the question is what their prognosis on Jeter is. That’s what this comes down to - if it is possible he’ll be back for the Sox series that’s one thing.
But quad’s are difficult to asses.
That they pulled Gonzalez from tonight’s game however tells you at least two things: 1) that they are concerned about Jeter’s injury and 2) they really did not like what they saw from Betemit today in the field.
I don’t think Betemit’s bat is the major issue - he has always struck out a lot but he’s not going to be as dreadful as he’s been so far.
We’re just going to have to wait and see how this plays out. I don’t think the team even knows.
Don’t worry about Phil Hughes velocity. It is a non-issue.
If you want to see how his fastball is - just look at how hitters react to it. Today was a bad day but the blue jay hitters were consistently behind his fastball.
All pitchers are building arm strength right now.
Full-time Betemit would make me very sad.
“I was hoping Woodward would make the team over him in Spring Training.”
.167/.286/.250 Chris Woodard current AAA (Phillies)
I’ve been saying A-Rod to SS and Ensberg to 3B since forever, if Jeter got hurt. Everyone looked at me like I was nuts.
Luis Sojo is still in the organization, why not see if he is busy, heck let’s go one step further & get Bobby Meacham back on the diamond, he still has a few errors left in him.
CB I got to admit I am worried a bit about Hughes but I guess your right w/ him still currently building arm strength
this is the one thing that makes me believe that
1st sign of hope
Bonds makes the most sense on the Mariners or Indians or Rays. But only if he is willing to play for 5 million or less.
CB is absolutely correct about building up arm strength, it’s what all pitchers are doing now.
Brandon,
Trust me - phil’s velocity is not an issue. Put it out of your mind.
I really don’t think there is anything there.
People are so unbelievably fixated on it because they are still trying to project what kind of pitcher phil will be.
The notion is that unless he’s throwing at least 93-95 he’s not going to be an “Ace.”
It’s just nonsense. Again, just look at how hitters are reacting to his fastball when he’s on.
That’s what you should look at. Are hitter’s able to square it on their bat? Do they have strong swings against it?
Phil’s fastball is just a different beast. Just for contrasts compare how hitter are able to bore down on Farnsworth’s 98mph fast ball vs. one of Phil’s 90mph fastballs.
Justin Veralander this year is intentionally trying to throw slower to gain movement - he’s now trying to throw 93-95 instead of 95-97.
Homer Bailey tonight against Scranton threw one of the best games of his career.
Chad Moeller caught bailey last year and said he’d never seen him look so good.
The reason - Bailey was throwing his fastball 94 and tonight at that speed it had more movement than Moeller had ever seen.
Bailey has always refused to take anything off his fastball - he’s kept trying to throw it as hard as possible. Perhaps he’s learning what Phil Hughes already knew at the age of 18.
It’s movement and location. Phil will probably wind up sitting 91-93.
I have no reason to suspect he’s got some kind of injury. Nor do I think there is any significant change he’s altered his mechanics for the worse.
I trust Nardi Contreras and Dave Eiland much more than I do guys with blogs trying to get attention.
The question I asked Pete to ask Cashman in the 10 questions interview he did with him was whether Arod would play SS if Jeter were out for a long length of time. I had a weird feeling Jeter would be on the DL early this year.
I knew Pete wouldn’t pick the question because I knew Cashman would look at Pete like he was stupid if he asked it, but my reasoning for asking it was that I feel it’s time to stop this nonsense that Arod cannot play SS because of Derek Jeter.
The mere suggestion of Arod sliding over to the more important defensive position for a few weeks or more is normally met with vitriol.
That only proves to me that everyone is afraid of the truth.
The best defensive SS on this team is playing 3b.
If Jeter and his loyal apologists didn’t believe that, they wouldn’t protest the idea of Arod moving over to SS as vehemently as they do.
They’re all afraid that Arod is going to play amazing at SS and show more range than Jeter.
They’re afraid he might make the team better.
How myopic and pig headed is that?
If Joe Girardi really is his own man and not a Torre clone and this is really a new team, then if Jeter hits the DL, Arod should be at SS and Ensberg at 3b until Jeter is healthy enough to return.
That’s the best team he can field. Not Gonzales at SS or Betemit.
Jesse - As long as your talking about bringing Bonds in, why not ask Canseco if he’d come back? IMO the Yankees don’t need that kind of problem.
I can live w/ that CB
“I knew Pete wouldn’t pick the question because I knew Cashman would look at Pete like he was stupid if he asked it”
I think it is more likely that your question didn’t make the cut because it wasn’t one of the best 10 questions sent in to Pete. After all, he did receive hundreds of questions. There are lots of more interesting things to ask Cashman than stuff about whether or not ARod would play 3B.
Congrats, Pete…another stupid, controversial topic that serves no other purpose than to get the ol’ hit counter up!
I just don’t see the value that Betemit brings to the team. He is barely more than a body out there. Let Gonzalas give it a whirl. I don’t think the Yankees have all that much faith in Betty if they pulled Alberto from the game. If we fans are already suspicious of Betemit’s skills, don’t you think the Yankees are as well?
I am about to cry. This will become a trend for our older players. Giradi being the former catcher, knowing Posada’s injury with his throwing arm, should have taken more precaution with the vet. He def. mishandled that situation.
francio,
To me, as a Yankee fan, it was a very interesting question. I didn’t say it was one of the 10 best. I’m not mad it didn’t make the cut. I knew it wouldn’t, but I threw it out to Pete as a long shot.
That’s the kind of question myself and other fans who sit in my section at games BS about during games.
But if it made you feel better to take a leak on it, I hope you feel fully fluffed.
I think it’s like this taboo thing that the Yankees are not ever allowed to discuss. As if Jeter’s legacy and status is somehow disrespected by the mere idea of it.
I like that Pete is asking the tough question now that Jeter might be DL’d.
I don’t see for a second how Jeter’s being disrespected, when Arod, who would have been a first ballot HOF SS moved to 3b to not make waves for him.
If Jeter’s as much of a team guy as he seems to be, he should want Arod at SS if he’s out for more than a few games.
My point is, there should be no controversy.
What would be refreshing would be to hear Girardi say if Jeter hits the DL, “Well, we’re lucky to have one of the best SS’s in the game playing 3rd for us who can slide over until Jete’s healthy. We’re doubly lucky to have Ensberg, a former all star at 3b to man the hot corner.”
Why that is so preposterous is beyond me.
It’s all about Jeter’s ego and to me as a fan, that’s kinda lame.
What other summer hobbies are available ??
On the up side, future ticket prices just became affordable.
In my darkest nightmares, I never thought it would come to this.
We must now consider the unthinkable.
Sign Bonds.
May the children forgive us.
Who should play SS?
A-Rod, Betemit, and Gonzalez are the options. It sounds like A-Rod doesn’t want the job and it could affect his hitting if he doesn’t feel comfortable in the field. On top of that, it would create a media distraction with Jeter/A-Rod.
Betemit is currently the backup at both middle infield positions and is supposed to be able to handle 1st and 3rd base as well. I don’t know what his fielding has been like in LA or Atlanta, but it hasn’t been great in NY. On offense, he is a switch hitter and has decent power for a middle infielder.
Gonzalez is supposed to have a gold glove but a very weak bat. If Jeter had to go on the DL and there was a roster spot open for a middle infielder, I would agree with calling up Gonzalez. However, from what I’ve read so far, Jeter will not be going on the DL.
If Betemit wasn’t the guy the Yankees planned on using in a situation like this then I think the Yankees need new middle infielder on the roster permanently and Betemit or Ensberg need to be traded or released. Moving A-Rod to SS doesn’t improve the offense at all and probably doesn’t improve the defense as he will need to adjust to SS and take his excellent glove away from 3B.
Are the Yankees doomed because of the injuries to Posada and Jeter?
No. Jeter and Posada are a combined 8 for 41 (.195) with 1 extra base hit and 3 RBIs and the Yankees are .500. replacing these bats with Betemit and Molina (6-27 or .222 with 2 doubles and 1 RBI combined) should not destroy the Yankees chances of remaining around .500 until they come back. When Jeter and Posada come back and are healthy, they will be able to contribute how they have in the past and give the team a boost. There is absolutely no reason to believe this will prevent the Yankees from playing .500 baseball.
Hey G Love,
I do think Jeter is a crappy defensive SS, however there are just hundreds of more important questions to ask Cashman then “Hey if Jeter goes down, will A-Rod play SS??”
I wasn’t “taking a leak” or feeling “fully fluffed”. I do feel though that you sounded very pompous by saying “I knew Pete wouldn’t pick the question” as if your question was like the most meaningful question of all-time but way too tough to ask the GM. Your question is just not that important and mostly irrelevant.
As to the idea of ARod taking over at SS for two weeks, it seems pretty dumb to me. ARod has not played that position in several years. Even if we assume he can get reaccustomed fairly quickly, Jeter will probably be back by then, so what’s the point? This kind of thing is something you plan for in Spring Training. That way ARod would already be prepared to make the move. This was not even thought of in Spring Training, so it is waste of time to do it now. ARod is very comfortable at third, so keep him there.
francio,
There seems to be 3 groups of people:
a) Those who don’t think A-rod should play SS at any cost because it’ll hurt Jeter’s feelings.
b) Those who see this as an opportunity to do what should have happened 4 years ago. Let A-rod take his rightful position back.
c) Those who want to wait to see the extent of Jeter’s injury before making any radical moves.
Yeah, choice C seems pretty reasonable to me.
and d) Those who don’t want to see Alex moved to SS because of the affect it could have on him. It has taken him a while but he’s doing great at 3rd why mess with that. I’m fairly confident that he can handle the move back to SS all but 4 years of his career where there, it may take couple games for him to get back into the swing of things. My biggest worry is how it will affect him (more specifically his throws) when he then moves back to 3rd.
sign Bonds ?….too funny !
A-Rod to short….again funny !
Any of these being important in the overall 2008 Season….flippin’ hilarious !!!
.
Everyone needs to calm down and have faith.
.
oh, and good morning !
move alex to catcher and sign tony womack. Then sign bonds to a ballboy/3b/DH role contract with a pro HGH contract. Next sign mike piazza to a 5 year 210 million dollar deal. Re-sign clemens at a prorated $45 million deal with same HGH package. Or just relax you maniacs.
I’d like to see more of Ensberg in the lineup. I think he could help us.
Betemit is stinking. Bad.
NO TO BONDS. PERIOD.
Betemit is baggage. It’s a mystery how he ever made it out of spring training.
Kevin Long has worked with him since last year and all he’s done is regress.
Alberto Gonzales, Nick Green, or Cody Ransom have all the versatility Betemit has and can at least make contact with the bat.
I might drop dead if someone actual quoted statistics instead of just pulling opinions out of their azzes. This is the first time I’ve been in a ‘baseball discussion’ where the chicks are much smarter then the guys.
Wilson Betemin has a career OPS of .766. How good/bad is that? Last year, the AL average of ALL players was .760. Obviously, you expect less from a SS, since it is a key defensive position. Over the last 3 years, his OPS has been .792, however it was .841 against RHP. Last year, as a Yankee in 84 ABs, he had 4 HRs. Meanwhile, AG has a .715 career OPS in the Minors, with a HR every 160 ABs.
Last year, there were 12 AL SSs who had a min of 300 PAs. ONLY FOUR has an OPS of over .766 FIVE of these 12 had an OPS of under .700.
And lets not forget that whlie his OPS is WELL in the top 1/2 of starting SSs, for us, Wilson Betemin is a BACKUP UIF.
As for ARod, while I’m sure he could field grounders at SS, can you imagine him fielding the popups that Jetes gets? We know that ARod’s defensive weakness is throwing, as he is erratic. Now imagine him throwing from the SS hole, or ranging up the middle and throwing from that angle. The throws from SS are a totally different length and angle then from SS. Now imaging him turning DPs, something he hasn’t done for 5 years.
IS THERE ANYONE WHO THINKS HE WILL BE BETTER AT SS THEN HE IS A 3rd? Just how much is gained having Ensberg at 3rd vs Betemin/AG at SS?
Lastly, was Posada’s contract too expensive? You bet! But so what? It didn’t cost us any prospects. Just money, and that is one thing the Yankees have. Meanwhile, if you want to make the PS in 2008 and 2009, what catcher was available that you would rather have? And in 2010 and 2011, how do you think Jorge will compare to other BUCs in the league?
I would feel better if miggy were at short. jmo which in this case is irrelevant.
Wow guys it’s interesting to read some of the comments here.. It’s not time to panic…
The Yankees have hit a little rough patch here, but it’s nothing they can’t play through…
No need to panic, this will all work out.
thanks old yanks fan - but between you and me, i think the chicks on this blog are smarter than a lot of the guys in most baseball discussions.
a-rod is a third baseman. that’s the end of the story in my book. his body has changed, his fundamentals have changed, the way he approaches the game has changed. plus, he’s a headcase - unless there’s a real, serious need to put him at short, i say keep him happy at third. he’s the guy we need to keep consistent at a time like this when two big pieces of the offense go down.
this is not a little league team. the fo plans for these situations, and they have backup plans to back up backup plans. we dont need stevie to switch positions with mikey in case louie gets the chicken pox and can’t play. the lineup can absorb a horrible hitting AG for a few days, and it would be nice to see some actual defense in the infield (not that i think jeter’s as bad as that study says; only that he’s not known for his defense). plus, a-rod’s already alluded to the fact that he doesn’t feel ready to play short - shouldn’t we just listen to the guy?
re: posada - its just money, which the yankees have plenty of. and in my view, posada earned the new contract. he is one of the most durable catchers ever. molina’s a fantastic backup, and frankly, posada isn’t hitting right now anyway. i hope it’s not a serious injury, but again, for a little while, the lineup can absorb molina.
Once Arod said he hasn’t taken groundballs at SS in years, that answers the debate.
You don’t put a guy out there cold and expect results. Wrong way to go.
With that option being out, Gonzalez is the next, best option.
You can’t hide at SS. Gotta have someone who can play the position. Gonzalez can and Betemit can’t. Its that simple.
As far as Hughes’ velocity, where did that come from? He threw the ball well yesterday. Its not like the Royals hit rockets off him. They were constantly late on his fastballs, regardless of velocity.
I think pseudo-scouts and broadcasters spend WAY too much time looking at radar gun readings. As CB said, look at how hitters react to pitches. That gives you a better indictation of pitch quality.
Hughes’ problem was twofold yesterday. One, he had a horrible HP umpire who squeezed the hell out of him. Cost him at least 25 pitches and a run. That made him tentative and he went away from his fastball too much. Again, he’s young and he’s learning in every start. I thought he held his composure very well yesterday, given the conditions.
Two, he lost the feel for his curveball, most likely because of the cold, and couldn’t throw it for strikes. Had the same problem with his changeup.
I’d like to see this team actually play a few games in baseball weather since every game has been played in winter conditions this season.
That has contributed to the injuries and lack of offense.
As I have said all along, its just about treading water until the weather, travel and health of a few players improve.
If they can do that, things will work out.
I love folks whining about Posada now. If the Yankees didn’t sign him, and the Mets did, these same folks would be whining about, “how could they let Posada go to the Mets over money”?
Its so simple to second guess after the fact.
His arm isn’t getting amputated. He is just hurt.
Its sports, players get hurt. Deal with it.
Hughes will be just fine.
It was almost cold enough to snow yesterday, Hughes hasn’t pitched in those conditions very often.
Chalk it up to a learning experience. He’ll come out a stronger pitcher for having gone through it.
I’m sorry that it had to come at the expense of DJ geting hurt, but I personally am interested to see Alberto play a little bit… you hear so many things about how great he is with his glove that it makes you wonder what he can really offer the team. there is no doubt on my mind that he would be the right option to take over full time at SS if Jeter is going to be out for an extended period of time.
who knows, maybe the kid will be so good he’ll force Girardi and Cashman to keep him on the MLB roster…
or for all those illogical Gonzalez haters, think of it as a mini-audition for potential trade bait come the deadline this summer.
#1. I like the Gonzalez move. Give him a shot. He is not as bad as some here are describing.
#2. Did I hear someone say yesterday that Ensberg can catch? Give him a shot and platoon him with Molina. If Ensberg can survive defensively, I would love to have his bat in there.
#3. Montero is too young. Period.
#4. That Jeter was on the field after he injured himself says a lot about the injury. I think Jeter will be back sooner than later.
#5. In 3 starts between Hughes and Kennedy they have been manhandled 2/3 of the time. Lets hope Kennedy shows something today!
You know, SJ44 and CB, I feel like every time you guys post all I have to say is, “Ditto.”
Before Pag’s little piece, almost no one talked about Hughes’ velocity in a negative way. Now, it’s the topic du jour. Or the obsession du jour. Power of suggestion is a dangerous thing.
SJ44, I did a little research yesterday, and while ARod exaggerates every so slightly when he says he hasn’t taken groundballs to SS in years, he’s really not that far off. He hasn’t played SS at all in 2 years, and in the 2 seasons prior to that he played a total of 8 innings split among 5 games. And, little that I know about baseball in comparison to many, many other people, it seems to me that the Yankees would be compromising 2 positions by moving ARod to SS at this point and Alex doesn’t need any more distractions than absolutely necessary. No player does; that is not a knock on Alex.
It’s disheartening that these injuries (Giambi, Jeter, Posada) have happened in spite of a spring that saw everyone healthy and in terrific shape. It’s undeniable that these are older players, though, and while it seems like a weak excuse to keep citing the cold weather, it is true that as you get older, the body’s ability to bounce back and to loosen up just slows down. Not so much for elite athletes as for the normal population, but it does make a difference, nonetheless.
I’m glad if there have to be injuries that they are now and not later. Of course, I’m also hopeful about the “not later” part! The Yankees have dealt with the situation for the last several seasons, it seems, and they have risen to the occasion each time. I don’t see why they can’t this time around.
SJ- I know it isn’t the best thing to do, but any speculation on what it might be?
Now that both Derek and Jorge are heading towards the DL, I’m sure that Girardi hoped that ARod would take up the slack and help carry the team. Not so, Joe, ARod goes 0 for 4. Help carry the team? Are you kidding? All he wants to carry is his ego. He’s a Me Player, not a Team Player. Call Alberto, he is the answer.
Russell
I still think it is a dl situation for Jeter, but I don’t doubt that he would be back up after the 15 days are up. I noticed that they aren’t downplaying either Jorge’s injury or Jeters which makes me think they are pretty serious.
Annie- Give me a break. He had a bad day. You think he is thinking about himself?? That is insane! ANd you are going to rely on a kid who can field but not hit. Please! If they call up Alex from the minors, they will tell him just to be concerned with his d and not to worry about the hitting aspect.
hm, re: annie savoy - i take back what i said before about women having better baseball discussions than men on this blog.
looks like it’s breakfast time. don’t feed the trolls.
rb15
Don’t take it back!
We are all like that.
Annie Savoy
maybe you need to calm down a second and recognize that sometimes guys have bad games. maybe you don’t watch baseball that much? i don’t know. but there are days in which “the guy” might not have a good game. it happens. hell even Jeter went 0-5 last saturday. does that mean he was trying to hit bombs and not help the team? does it mean he was being egotistical?
sometimes fans take the little things way too personally and forget the fact that these are real people. sometimes they have a bad day, so you go out there the next day and try again.
it’s pretty horrid that people like to make everything a personality disorder when a player simply has a bad day, you people are not the best of fans. you are the ones who boo latroy hawkins and probably booed alex rodriguez a few years ago.
i am a fan and i love my team, i also am objective, i don’t make everything personal. maybe you’d enjoy the game a bit more if you took that approach.
thanks…
Meant ALberto.
Jennifer,
Speculation as to what, the injury? Not sure what you mean.
“In 3 starts between Hughes and Kennedy they have been manhandled 2/3 of the time.”
———————————————————–
Well, they certainly didn’t do great, but they were not manhandled in any way.
IPK gave up 6 runs on…. FOUR hits. A couple were lucky ground balls. So what happened? He walked 4. Same with Hughes. Wasn’t hit that hard, but also walked 4 in 3 IPs.
Can we expect more of this? Definitely not. Both have stellar MiLB careers built on control. These games, especially walks wise, were aberations.
I’m not saying they will both be studs from here on out, just that those TWO games were the exception, not the rule. And Phil was a stud in his other start.
Betemit swings and misses too much!
sj- Yes the injury to Posada.
i actually wrote a response to this annie person that got eaten. bleh
Personally, I think Jeter’s quad is worse than they are letting on. If it isn’t, why bring up Gonzalez?
If their party line (he’s only going to be out for a few days…. we’ll see about Boston) was true, then there would be no need to bring up Gonzalez. You just play Betemit for a few days.
I think they now see Betemit can’t play SS and Jeter is going to be out for a few weeks and are making this move to stabilize the middle of the infield.
The Yankees are notoriously dishonest (or, let’s just say, not cooperative) when it comes to injury reports. I never believe a word they say about them.
I tend to look at the actions of the players to get my read on the real scoop re: injuries.
My read? Giambi is fine, Jeter and Posada need to go on the DL.
jennifer, i’m kidding - i think most of the posters - and women posters - on here are great.
who is pitching today? andy? or ian? they could both really use a quality start right now.
The day Barry Bonds becomes a Yankee is the day I stop being a Yankees fan. We already have one steroids user. We don’t need another.
Jeff - “Betemit swings and misses too much!”
You are so right. So did another lousy player… Mickey Mantle.
I guess you prefer a guy with less pop and a lower OPS, but who makes ‘productive’ outs?
As far as Arod not being a “team player”, he changed positions when he was the BEST EVER TO PLAY SS IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME.
If that didn’t make him a “team player” in the minds of some fans, nothing ever will.
Jennifer, if I had to guess, Posada is either has a “dead arm”, which is just shoulder fatigue and is a week-10 day injury, or he has a loose body (some cartlidge) that is disrupting his ability to throw. The MRI can pick that up.
If he has that, its a 3-4 week injury because he would need minor surgery and rehab.
The fact that he says he has no pain leads me to believe its the former (dead arm) and not the latter.
Donna Agree with your take on “controversial” topics in order to increase hits. Sad isn’t it?
Dman I’m with you. You seem to bring a tone of rationality without wasting a lot of words. I like that since I’m typically ADD with these things! - I glaze over at lengthy posts since I’m typically in a hurry! Especially when there’s really nothing to talk about since we won’t make the decision anyway!
Wilson Betemit has played a total of 365 innings at short stop. He started 32 games and played in 67 games at that position. Just some information.
A-Rod is the best player on our team… he had a bad day. live with it.
Trisha, it doesn’t matter how many games BeteStrikeOut has at SS. He is God awful at the plate. How A-Rod managed to strike out more times than he did boggles the mind.
I’m against moving A-Rod from 3B. I say bring up that Gonzalez kid and let him play SS. Send Duncan down to make room.
sheesh. a week into the season and Girardi already has to deal with such adversity. jeter and posada are definitely two HUGE blows, but it’s not like either of them are out for the season or a few months at this point (knock on wood). it’s gonna be tough, and we may just fall into a bit of a rut for the fourth April in a row, but whatever, the Yankees have shown they’re capable of dealing with rough starts and still winning well over 90 games. It’s gonna be an interesting 2 weeks or so to say the least. this is where we find out just how deep the team is.
Okay thanks SJ. Do you think if he was out for any perios of time I hate to even suggest it. But would they consider signing PIazza ( I believe he is still out there).
Re: Posada
Jorge has been amazing healthy for a Catcher during during his Yankee tenure. Consider this: He was a second baseman converted to a Catch. He did not catch in the Majors until he was 26. He has 10 full years as a catch, 2 of them playing 112 games.
Johnny Bench was a catcher most of his entire career. Did some 1st and 3rd base, and a little OF. He basically had 15 years of full time Catching on his knees. IRod, a full time catcher, has about 15 full Catcher years on his knees.
This doesn’t mean that Posada, who is older realtive to these guys, will still be effective for the next 4 years. But AFTER 4 years, he will have 14 Catcher years on his knees. MANY catchers have been effective for 14 years.
My issue is that between Jetes and Posada, the DH spot might be filled for 2010 and 2011. I think we need to stay away from all hit-no field guys (who in theory can always DH), and look for guys who are athletic and can field their position.
Matsui missed 2 balls he should have had (and that I believe JD would have had). One was (just barely) a HR and the other a double, that caused 5 runs to score that. wouldn’t have scored if the ball was caught. Offensive is sexy, but we have underrated defense for years. That needs to change.
The issue with Betemit is not his bat. It’s his glove.
Betemit is a backup infielder. That’s why you can’t expect him to hit like a regular. He’s a backup.
And for a backup guy he’s got a good bat. Yes he strikes out a lot but the reason why backup players aren’t starting is because they have limitations and faults. Usually big ones.
To put this in context - the Red Sox are carrying Alex Cora as their back up infielder.
As a hitter Alex Cora is worse than Miguel Cairo. You can look it up. He’s worse than Cairo at the plate.
So the only thing you worry about with Betemit is the glove because SS is a premium defensive position.
It’s an issue of Jeter’s prognosis, the uncertainty around it and how much bad defense they are willing to tolerate from Betemit.
We can’t know what the real story with that is because the yankees aren’t going to tell (nor really do they need to particularly before the Sox series).
I don’t think they liked what they saw in the field yesterday from Betemit and I’d guess they’re leery about Jeter’s leg. That’s probably why they pulled Gonzalez.
They’ll get through this rough patch. Their being tested here but this s a very deep organization.
When you have the capacity to go down to the minor leagues and pull up a guy like gonzalez - a guy who can play all sta caliber defense and probably hit .250 that’s a very good thing.
When you’re an old team you need depth - that’s what they’ve gone out and done. That was the plan.
If they need it they’ll use it.
Just throwing out another option on player movement over the next few days, on the assumption that (1) they really don’t know if Jeter will be back this weekend or will need to go on the DL and (2) they want to use Gonzalez at SS at least part of the time that Jeter is out.
Ohlendorf pitched 3 innings last night so is cooked for tonight and probably tomorrow. Send him down and bring up Gonzalez. By Friday or Saturday you know whether Jeter is coming back - if he does, send Gonzalez back and bring up a pitcher (I don’t think it can be Ohlendorf or Albaledejo since my recollection is there is a 10 day requirement before being called back up). If Jeter isn’t coming back, you DL him and call up a pitcher. Then at the end of the 10 days, send that pitcher down and call up Ohlendorf again.
Ensberg has never caught - I suspect he is the one that volunteered to be the emergency catcher - so if Jorge is down for any length of time, they need to call up Moeller.
Jennifer,
No. I don’t think the Yankees see Piazza as an option.
Folks, look at it another way. Let’s say Jeter and Posada have to go on the DL. If they go on the DL, both would be 100% by May 1. Would you take it?
Of course you would. That’s an example of how long the baseball season is. You would take 5 months of good health over 1 month of two guys battling nagging injuries in winter weather any day of the week.
The first month is about treading water, getting guys used to the grind again, and staying healthy. “Healthy” meaning no long term injuries. Guys will always get bumps and bruises. Its the nature of the game.
If you accomplish that in April, its a good month. Nobody wins the pennant in April.
Doubtful that Chris from 9:54PM last night is still signed on and reading, but Erick Almonte is playing here in Toledo, for the Mud Hens.
Jennifer - Piazza was a great offensive catcher in his prime, but the Yankees don’t need him. Defensively, he was always terrible, and we have enough DH types.
Piazza isn’t the answer. He can’t catch anymore. Molina may be lacking in the hitting department, but dare I say it - his defense is better than Jorge’s.
seriously, what SJ says. we don’t need to sign anyone, we don’t need to move a-rod. if it’s may and we’re ten games out and jeter’s in traction, THEN i’ll be worried.
Lets hope not Jennifer. But even so, Gonzalez should be a good, speedy addition to the team. We need a guy like that.
I was only asking as a back up to Jose. (If Jose need to become the starter for a length of time).
“If you accomplish that in April, its a good month. Nobody wins the pennant in April.”
True, but you most certainly can lose it in April. DET is digging themselves one monster hole by not winning games. Any day now, they will be sent thank you cards from the White Sox, who all of a sudden look like they are CLE’s real competition for the Central.
Law and Order - it isn’t the hitting I am concerned about with Molina… it is his consistency and ability to hold up playing on a regular basis. Has he ever been tested like this or has he been a backup his hole career. Not saying he is a spectacular hitter but he can hit better than a lot of backup catchers I have seen.
if posada just has a dead arm that affects his throwing ,but not his hitting, why put him